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The Forever Dog Life is available for pre-order. And, with more than 120 recipes, longevity tips, and new science for better dog dishes and healthier pet homes, The Forever Dog Life is a must-read for dog lovers.
The Forever Dog, co-authored by Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Becker, was published in 2021 and shook up the dog lover world. Finally, people outside the raw feeding community were exposed to the benefits of feeding dogs fresh food and choosing natural and holistic treatments. Seeing The Forever Dog race to #1 Best Seller status was exciting. This book has a positive impact on the lives of dogs worldwide.
But, as much as I enjoyed reading The Forever Dog, I couldn't help but think of the people who would be overwhelmed by the content or stress themselves out trying to adopt every amazing tip the authors shared. I read the book once and never picked it up again, except as a reference guide. This isn't a negative critique of the authors or the book. The Forever Dog felt more like a textbook. The information shared is important, but the subject matter is heavy.
And this is why I'm so excited about The Forever Dog Life, which is an excellent follow-up.
Who are Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Becker?
Rodney Habib is a passionate and curious content creator and dog lover who discovered the benefits of raw feeding and other natural options. He created a platform to collect studies and other information to share with dog lovers worldwide.
Dr. Karen Becker is a holistic veterinarian who shares Rodney's passion for pets, fresh food, and all-encompassing medicine (treating the whole body). As one of the most followed holistic veterinarians in the world, Dr. Becker has revolutionized pet health and nutrition, much to the chagrin of many traditional veterinarians who question the science behind feeding fresh food versus highly processed diets.
The Forever Dog Life Book Review
I've only had the book for a day. Nevertheless, in the few hours I've spent repeatedly going through the book, it became clear that The Forever Dog Life is phenomenal, and I believe it's better than The Forever Dog.
The Forever Dog was an excellent introduction, encouraging us to make better choices. It's perfect for pet parents who love to dive deeply into the science behind canine health and nutrition. The Forever Dog Life is an excellent follow-up, showing how to incorporate the tips from the first book into a dog's life and diet.
Pros of The Forever Dog Life Book
- The book is filled with visual explanations of the benefits of various foods. For example, the authors include a list of vegetables, explaining why some are more beneficial when cooked. They also explain the benefits of eggs based on how they're cooked and the taurine and Omega-3 levels of different fatty fish.
- The book has creative recipes for meals, meal toppers, treats, and whole food supplements. The images are stunning, and many recipes are balanced using AAFCO and FEDIEF standards and include necessary supplementation. And there are also household (cleansers, weed remover, bug repellents) and functional (shampoo, coat spray, toothpaste) recipes.
- I love that the dog food recipes yield six pounds of food. This makes them doable for people with limited storage space, dogs with sensitivities, or dog owners new to feeding fresh food. Also, many recipes call for common ingredients that are easy to source, and they can be fed raw, poached, or gently cooked.
- The book clearly explains how to boost a dog's diet and health, including details on how different foods contribute to overall wellness. I appreciated the sections on mushrooms, herbs, and sprouts.
- This book isn't overwhelming or complicated. The Forever Dog was an excellent bridge between raw feeders and veterinarians. The Forever Dog Life is an excellent introduction to feeding homemade dog food (and more).
This book has something for everyone. After perusing it several times, I'm excited to try the recipes and other tips.
What I'd Love to See in The Forever Dog Life 2
I have yet to find a book that covers everything a discerning dog lover wants or needs to know, so there were a few things that I wish The Forever Dog Life contained that I hope to see in a future reiteration.
Food Energetics
I love the topics of food energetics and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I would have loved to see recipes that were cooling or warming. As well as more information on incorporating food energetics into a dog's diet and health. Although this isn't covered in this book, the authors do a fantastic job educating readers on the medicinal benefits of various foods and other ingredients.
Cost of Recipes
The recipes are amazing, and I plan to try several. However, I'm curious about the cost of the recipes. Several recipes call for multiple eggs (5, 6, and more), and with the cost of pasture-raised eggs, this may not be feasible for some dog owners. Most recipes in this book yield six pounds of food. I feed three large dogs (more than four pounds of food daily); these recipes would last 1-1/2 days for me. I'm excited to try a few recipes, but feeling my dogs solely from this book is outside my budget.
Although the cost of some of the recipes may be steep for some, the variety of recipes provides something for all of us to try – meals, meal toppers, treats, and more.
In the next book, I would love to see balanced bulk recipes for multi-dog homes and recipes for people on a tight budget or with limited sourcing. I'm unsure if this is possible, but seeing these topics addressed in a book of this stature is uncommon.
Sample Grocery Shopping List
Out of curiosity, I looked for a simple recipe that didn't call for half a dozen eggs. The California Beef recipe (page 179) contains eleven ingredients and five supplements. The following is a list of ingredients and their approximate cost in my area, and many can be used in multiple meals.
- 3.125 lb lean ground beef = $8.99/lb
- beef liver = $2.49/lb
- cooked salmon = $4.69/can (14.75 ounces)
- avocado = $1.19 each
- fresh strawberries = $2.50/lb
- alfalfa sprouts = $2.99/3 oz (they are easy to grow)
- raw sunflower seeds = $20/lb
- salt = $3.99/30 oz
- nutritional yeast = $5.99/4.5 oz
- bone meal = $25.99/250 count
- kelp powder = $5.50/2.5 oz
- choline = $22.96/90 count
- vitamin E = $15.49/90 count
- iron = $10.49/90 count
- zinc = $5.99/60 count
- manganese = $11.54/180 count
- Grocery Shopping Total: $169.89 (this is not the cost of the meal)
As I calculated the costs of this recipe, it became clear that I would make it their food as I cooked for myself; we would share these ingredients. Currently, my dogs have their own fridge, their own eggs, and other food. If I followed Forever Dog Life recipes, I would include my dogs on my grocery shopping trips, making fresh meals for all of us (mind would be cooked). It dawned on me that parents don't buy food for themselves but shop separately for their children – if that makes sense.
Final Thoughts on The Forever Dog Life
It's been a long time since I've been this excited about a book. The Forever Dog Life is a gorgeous, well-organized book with useful information for all dog lovers, no matter where they are on their fresh food journey.
If you order a book, and I think you should, I encourage you to add the following to your shopping cart:
You don't need to follow Dr. Becker or Rodney Habib to gain value from their book. I fashioned my raw feeding style from what I learned from Dr. Ian Billinghurst and Dr. Tom Lonsdale; but this doesn't mean I can't gain from the knowledge shared by other experts in this field.
I predict that The Forever Dog Life will surpass the success of its predecessor.
